The following are transcriptions of the letter I received from President Sam Shames, and the e-mail I received from CEO Ronald Weissmann

Sept. 25, 2003

Caryn L. Anderson
P.O. Box 788
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Dear Ms. Anderson,

Thank you very much for your input, and the pleasant manner in which you voice your concerns regarding our sign. I assure you that our intent is to become a welcome addition to the Jamaica Plain community.

As Dr. Tahoun has stated, the sign is too large in our opinion as well. The sign maker who was contracted for the job did receive a permit from the City of Boston, however we were all surprised at the appearance once the sign was in place. We are currently planning to remove the Centre St. sign and replace it with a sign significantly smaller and less obtrusive.

Regarding the sign on St. John St., we plan to reduce the brightness as you requested. We hope that this will achieve a result that will maintain and enhance the character of the street.

We are very excited about our new practice in JP. The people and sense of community have been outstanding. Dr. Tahoun is excited about becoming a member of the community and provi9ding access to excellent and affordable dental care to all. We welcome this type of dialog from our neighbors today and in the years to come.

Very sincerely yours,

Samuel Shames, DMD, MAGD
President
Gentle Communications, LLC

************************

E-MAIL RECEIVED 30 September:

Let me start off by saying I am very impressed with the level of activism and sense of community I see exhibited by our new neighbors in JP... I agree 100% with the fact that the sign above our ne w location on Centre street is out of place, too big, and is not aesthetically in harmony with the feel of the community... I was shocked when it first went up and I started working on plans for a new, smaller and less obtrusive sign.
We rely on our sign company to provide us with artistically pleasing, and legally allowable signage. The company did get a permit for the sign and it is legal....but it is way too big !! It is bigger than any of the signs in any of our 18 other locations around the Boston area.

Our goal is to provide access to high quality, affordable Dental Care for the people of each town in which one of our offices are located. We do so with a sense of community and concern for our patients and our neighbors...

Our sign company has informed us it will take approximately 3 weeks to fabricate and install a new, smaller, less obtrusive sign. I hope you will allow us this amount of time and bear with us while we show you that we are good neighbors.

Respectfully submitted,

Ronald G. Weissman DMD MScD
CEO Gentle Dental Associates